Minivan destroyed after GPS leads driver onto MBTA tracks

Woman, children escape vehicle stuck on tracks

A Belmont woman and two children escaped serious injury when a train slammed into their minivan after a GPS device led the driver onto MBTA train tracks Tuesday night.

The woman, who was not identified, was driving southbound on Brighton Street shortly before 9 p.m. using her GPS. Two children, ages 7 and 10, were inside the vehicle at the time.

Just before Hittenger Street, the GPS indicated for her to take a right-hand turn, police said.

Unfortunately the turn positioned her vehicle onto the railroad tracks. The woman tried to drive the minivan off the tracks, but was unsuccessful. She fled the vehicle with two minor children.

Shortly after, a MBTA Fitchburg bound commuter rail train struck the vehicle, leaving it in a mangled mess on the tracks.

The driver and children were not injured. There were about 70 passengers on the train at the time of the crash.

Last summer, a South Attleborough woman told police she was driving in Brookline when her GPS caused her to take a turn onto the Green Line trolley tracks. Her car got stuck on the tracks, but there were no trains in the area at the time.

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